Safety control system



H. A. TOMKINS ET AL SAFETY CONTROL SYSTEM Filed June 19, 1936 Oct. 11, 1938.

gnmwvtou I 7 HARULDA.TUMK/N5m Law: .A..WAF.U

leakage ports 38 and 3| providing communication between the chamber 2| and the ends of the body I. To move the piston 15 from its position shown to the right end of the body 1 air is exhausted from the right end of the body 1 and through the port 32. As each end of the body I is in communication with the chamber 2! through the leakage ports 30 and 3| the pressure in each end of the body lis equal to the pressure of the pressure in the chamber 2i. Therefore as soon as the air is exhausted from the free end of the body I the compressed air at the opposite end of the body Twill expand forcing the piston I to the free end of thecylinder. It will be clear that by exhausting through the port 33 the piston l5 may bereturned'to its position as shown in Fig. 3.

The exhausting of air from either end of the distributing valve 6 is controlled bypistonexe haust valves 34 and 35 which are identical in construction. Referring particularly to' Fig. 4 wherein the exhaust valve 34 is disclosed, the piston exhaust valve 34 comprises a -bodyxin which is disposed a piston 36 to which is connected a valve 31 held against aseat 38 by a spring 39. The valve 3'! is removed away from its seat 38 by admitting air to the port 40 which drives the piston 36 downwardly against the action of the spring 39. The air to be exhausted, and in the present case fromone end of the distributing valve 6, is connected to the inlet'port 45. Then when the valve '31 is moved from its seat 38 the air to be exhausted passes by the seat 38 into the outlet port 46 which leads-to the'atmosphere.

In operation the machine 'is started byexhausting the lower or starting end of the distributing valve 6 as disclosed in Fig. 1 through the conduit 41 and the piston valve 35 to the atmosphere. Compressedair from a source of supply is conducted by conduits 48, 49 and 56 to the inlet port l8 as disclosed in Fig. 3. It then passes through the chamber 2|, the port [6, the outlet port l8 and the conduit 5| to the left end of the cylinder 5 as shown in Fig. 1, to drive thepiston 4 forwardly to engage the clutch 3. When it is desired to stop the machine the stopping or' top I end as viewed in Fig. 1 of the distributing valve 6 is exhausted through the conduit 52 and the piston valve 34 to the atmosphere. The piston 15 of the distributing valve 6 is then in the right end of the valve 6 as viewed in Fig. 3 and compressed air from the sourcethrough the conduits 48, 49 and 50 passes to the inlet valve l8 through the port 11, the outlet port 28 and the conduit 53 to the right end of the cylinder5 and drives the piston 4 back to release the clutch 3. During the time the piston 4 is moving from one end of the cylinder 5 to the other the air from the exhausting end of the cylinder 5 is being exhausted as heretofore explained.

In orderto actuate the piston valve 35 to start the machine, compressed air is conducted from the source through the conduits 48, 54 and 55 through the hand'starting valve 60 to the conduit 6!, through the hand starting valve 62 to the conduit 63, through the hand starting valve 6 to the conduit 65, through the hand starting valve 66 to the conduit 61 which connects with the port 40 of the piston valve 35. It will be observed'that the hand starting valves 68, 62, 64 and'66 are in series with the source of compressed air and the piston valve 35 making it necessary that all four handstarting valves be pressed simultaneously in order to permit the against a seat by a spring H.

passage of compressed air to the port 48 to act on the piston 36 to move the valve 31 from its seat 38 and to permit air to exhaust from the distributing valve 6 through the conduit 41 and the piston valve 35 to the atmosphere.

The hand starting valves 60, 62, 64 and 66 are disclosed more fully in Fig. 5. Each valve has a body 68 in which is disposed a valve 69 held The upper end of the valve stem 12 is provided with a rounded button 13 for manual engagement. Within the body 68 is an inlet port 14 and an outlet port 15. Communication between the ports 14 and is interrupted by the valve 69. It will thus be clear that as the button 13 is depressed against the action of the spring H the valve 69 is moved from its seat (Band compressed air may pass from the inlet port 14 to the outlet port 15.

In order to actuate the piston valve 34 to stop the machine compressed air is conducted from the source through the conduits 48, 54 and 86 to the handstopping valve 8|. The hand stopping valve 8! is the same as'the hand starting valves 60, 62, 64 and 66 so that as its button is pushed the compressed air passes through to the conduits 82 and 83 to the piston valve 34 to act on the piston 36 andmovethe valve 31 from its seat 38 and permit air to exhaust from the distributing valve 6 through the conduit 52 and the piston valve 34 to the atmosphere. provided with hand stopping valves 84, 85, and 86'all like the handstoppi'ng valve 8|, which are connected in parallel between the conduit 48 from the source of supply of compressed air and the piston valve 34 together with the hand stopping valve 8| so that the pushing of any one of them willadmit'compressed air from the source .ftozthe port 40 of the piston valve 34 to exhaust distributing valve 6 through the conduit 52 to stop the press. 1

It should be observed that the hand starting valves 68:.and- 62 are'spaced and on one side of the press and the hand starting valves 64 and .66 are spaced and on the other side of the press. The spacing of these valves on each side of the press is such as to require the operatives, in order to push them totrip the press, to be completely removed from danger being sufiiciently removed from the operative portions of the press that they can not place their hands or arms in danger. With" this arrangement and remembe'ring that all four hand starting valves must be simultaneously actuated before the press will start, it will be clear that it will be impossible for anyof the four operatives required in the operating of the present machine to have his hands or arms injuredby the machine. It will further be clear from the disclosure thus far that for "a machine requiring single operatives that a single pair of hand starting valves may be used but spaced so as to require the simultaneous push by both hands, or in another case -where one operator is required on each side of tion is a matter of convenience and, of course, 'it is not essential that they be located adjacent the hand starting valves or that there be any particular number.

The press is also In normal; ope ati n. i the pres sthe machin is started abyz the;;simultaneousnpushing of he whand starting -valves fillile andaifili -and is V stopped; automatically :at. the fillflgg'Dffi' a oomplete rbLlttOIl valve. B'Lwhich};

rnal1y closed and- \is,- opened by thei, depressing of the valve TstemF-iQB. shown-gin, Rig; 1; ;the ,valve stem nfliii, is providedwith;a ro1lersr89; rarthe crankshaft-415.,v {Ihus as thewcrankshaft ro- .Utates, at the end :of, a ,complete cycle, of operaj-tot exhaust oneaend of, the distributing valve der to requiretheoperatorsitmkeep;:tlieir hands "L25 I which thenpress, is i lowerinaizthe; cams 090. has; a

part of; the cam .gfltflthat .is-opposite ,the; roller roller; and depressing;. the ,valve steme 88,, a hand open valvewlill I is tprovidedivvhich.15,1101- ,The hand open .push valve. In], is disclosed more fully inFig. 6; It,isiprovidedivvith aHp dy-JBZ .39. Thus .when the hand open; valve Jfiiis. de-

pressed the supplypfcompressed air to thepiston 19 ii fro-moths ro1lerw89, it is, necessary. to ,sli ght1y rot-ate, the crankshaft -95. .isaccompfishfi ,elosing the h and, ,openivalvesl D L ,and attthe sametime operating. .the distrilouting valve 6.,to

,- complished' bywmeans 5301f the inohingvalveJjZ in Fig. 7.

The

v outletiport LI 3, whereas the inlet ,port-M fi isnor- .tmally cutofi :frorn-theouuetrport I 1 (i by ayalve cycle of operation. The appara tus ioreautoma-ti- 1: :H sea ins assen iirh 'valve l i I. ir s-,iureed eirs rl fiiby sprin i 'TT u iihfirllfilVBfiStQhiJlD is-secured a buthich when qdepressedi, ;-urges ;;the: valve Bil-.1 bitumen-easement; with: :thei.-:seat L tog-c se 1a J icemmunieatio -vbe we az thez nle o {I I5 nd tithe ieutletwnort: 1:1 n towop .ae omzmunsication tbetweem .theiinl tt o tx-z t andnt .gulfrleliypOlti-fllfifi *sReferrine o1':Ei 1 '1 onduitulr23 -connects he exhaust avca mac atedspus similar ;to;; the ,hand sta tin va v 6 rsinstanc ein that i m d-in cally stopping thepressiv h conduits-'52 ran d f0rz-a tua mm yit e.camieutmounted'on .omzthezstopninsi deia fithe;d str b neva v 5.-- 6 .-to--the inlet P130117 '3' l 10f; ther ch e v lv [Il 2 send: that amet ocka-l 14 inthe-c nduit1 2 mmvtrolsthefl-pass age of irtherethrough. flfhere- (A15 :ior, heniizthezpetoock {H z-i ipp edqthe: t p- ,dei'of theidistributine valv 6 isex au te v iiatmosp e i-throush th eout etip t H3- depressina hes uttonzlflvthe commun ca .a from :thegexhausting side of the distributing valve 6 is closed and a. communication between the eonduit 'fllt mma-thee artin Si 0t he-d tri .-utineiyalv i hand; th atm ph re by w of th tion, its high "point 9fi engages with the rollers-89 and depresses theivalye stem 88vzto ppema {passage in; the valve ,81 sto compressedsair from the conduits 98w,=9 9-,-J 0[| andi83 ,tO. 4211?? pistonvalve 36. Jlhe admiSSiDngOfP, compnessedsair vto-rthe piston valve 3 l operates it as heretofore explained through the conduiti-flsto stop therpress. ,In., ,0r-

on thehand-Estarting valves-durin th rtimeiz r 2 Whiq -th -cinqhin vy lv ia IA 2..

inxthewconduits :oontro th zpas ae z; zra ,th rethrou llnderizanvsconditions; if it 1issvdesiredrto;turn :pthe suankshaftmf the: press, aislight amount it 98 s s;-merelynecessary.- toiopen the normally closed spetoocks :1. hand 1;! 4i and itotpressytne .pushibut- O riinohingtvalve; :15! 2;. either, once :for aiperiodvof ti e; suiiiicientlm-longio-:obtain: the i desired move- ..smentsrof the oran-kshafti95 OI-Zrlli a,-series;of, short E8 inchingmoyements. {*Whenit isidesiredotor-move 1.-high:..=points9fi (ifith camz flt'irom contact iith roll 89.:wh n@it tpppedtim th msitiongit is :xnerel nneci s -ry. .4 r

meme-valve 5L0! ic -permit. Martins of; hetima-um '1 o andtm .hesanrsh ft 95forw d y y ens-of theopushzhut o inchin valve. I I2; u

- er iehspoint .96 hasvpa sedfihe roller :89

.A =anxaddedisai ty. eatu es-h ystem;is p wLvideck-vvitha low pressurestopvalve: I -,disc1osed m5 'sen rallyfinzpFisi 8 and inr detailviinaFisie9. The mu nosezthe lewznressureystop.valveis to re- 'l ease:; the clutch; whem; the pressure; from .the source eeome 'tDQslQW "As showmin Fis 9s v 30,;comprisesa :fI'amGQBO v di posed, a: diaphra m 1:32 havi -nundersid v ini-tc nstant communicati n -.-with th ourcero anompre sed; a r through zthe :ie ndui 5-5. Mic-and ,1.33..and-;the inlet p rt rill-34.

N e pressure exerted iegainst ;the;underside ofafifi they, diaphragm 1,32; is tceunteracted by L a spring i l,35-, bea-ring; at one endagainst a plate wfi in "contact with an adjusting nut- J 371 and;. at the other end against a plate L38 in contact with ,utheatop, of ;the diaphragm I32. @130 A- stem 1-39 is connected to the;diaphragmitw and slidably ino un'ted; in ;the adjusting :nut l 3 I. The-stem,l39i=will then take a vertical-positiDn mdepending ppon-zthe balance of forces exerted by the spring -'I35 and ;the pressure-on the underside e5 of the-diaphragm i32 and the-i position v of the qstem, la'lfi maybe fixed for. a; given pressurejon the underside ;of;:the diaphragm,,,l32; by adjustment of the nut 1131. --Flhe purpose of the;pressure responsive stem 139, is :to control the operae70 tion ofithe exhaust pushrbutton valve I which is; imilami a o tructio th hand startin .valve i11ustrated,in -F ig. 5 exceptvthat ,the ibutton 1Q;;'of ;-the-va1ve 60;; isgreplaced-vby a fiat during .the,1owerin ..ofthe press. I Instheveventflithat the momentum of tthet press is not sufiioienttoearry the .high; point OLt oamififl past; the: rol=1eri-89 but stops engagin :the

mally open ta'nd is inserted ,between. the oonduits, .93 and 99 v.from cam aqtuated valvei- '81.

in which is, reciprooablyamounted a valve, stem 1 93 having, a valve, 1.04 arranged tome -moved into engagement ,vvith the. seatulll5. .A spring H 0 resiliently keeps theuvalve. lMflfrom its seatslll5. A button MI, is mountedon the free end of,,the valve stem ms. Ask-thetbutton l'l I nis, depressed the valve W l is moved intorengagementwith the seat 55 and,preventstthespassage of compressed. aimfrornv the conduit-9B, toflthep .conduit valve V3%. is, cutoffeven thoughnthecam stop valve alis heldopen. The stoppingfind of the distributing valve 7' 6 then can notnexhaust through the conduit ,52jand theupistonvalve "34 and thedistributing' Valve. fii-may bei actuated to start the press. v

i In. order .tomove the high pointjfi of the oam start the press and thento stopjtgimmsd ately. This operation is knownas inching; and is acwhich. is shown generally -,in Rig. 1; and; ini.d,eiail Theinching valve LI 2 .is, providediwith an. outlet port .113;.opening vrto,thei atmosphere. inching valve lrl2,,is .provided withen inlet port M5 and an .inletsporuil lfi. 'I-heinlet-port i i 5 normally; oornmunicates, directly; with the iawm. b observed hat a 01 conduit I23 which in turn communicates with the exhausting conduit 52 communicating with the stopping end of the distributing valve 6.

Movement of the stem I39 is transferred to the knob M6 by-an arm I49 pivoted between-its ends to the stem I39 and at one of its ends to a fixed bracket I55. The free end of the arm I45 is provided with an adjustable pin I5I for contacting engagement with the knob I56. Itwill thus be evident that when thepressure of the compressed air supply drops to a predetermined low value,- the spring I35 will act to drive the stem I39 downwardly which in turn will move the pin I5I, by means of the arm I59, donward- 1y to depress the knob I46. The depressing of the knob I45 will open the valve I45'and exhaust the stopping end of the distributingvalve 6 through the conduits 52, I23 and I 48, through the valve M5 and its outlet I52 to the atmosphere.

It will be clear from the foregoing description that our improved safety control system may take various forms and may be carried out with other equivalent types of valve equipment than that herein disclosed.- It will be further obvious that by use of the present invention machines may be not only operated semiautomatically as disclosed but may be operated 'fully manually by closing the hand valve IIlI by means of the hold down cap I55, or may be arranged to operate entirely automatically. In its simplest form the system may comprise a single stopping and a single starting button as disclosed in the aforementioned copending application of Oscar G. Tweddell, Serial No. 733,617, filed July 3, 193%.

It will further be evident that instead of admitting compressed air to the piston valves 34 and 35 to exhaust the stopping and starting ends of the distributing valve 6, the starting and stopping ends of the distributing valve 6 may be exhausted directly by the starting and stopping push button valvesf It has been found in practice that when the distributing valve 5 is more than fifteen feet from a starting or stopping push button valve that the pressure type system should be used, that is, the system disclosed, wherein compressed air is utilized for operating the piston exhausting valves. Further it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to application on stamping presses but may be used for a wide variety of machines.

Having thus described our invention what we desire to protect by Letters Patent and claim is:

1. A system of the character described comprising mechanism to start and stop a machine, means including a plurality of manually operable means to operate said mechanism'for start ing the machine, connections between said means and said mechanism requiring simultaneous operation of said manually operable means to operate said mechanism for starting said mechanism, means including a plurality of manually operable means to operate said mechanism for stopping the machine, and connections between said last named means and said mechanism requiring the operation of only one of said named manually operable means to operate said mechanism for stopping said machine.

2. A system of the character described comprising a piston to start and stop a machine, a cylinder in which said piston is operated, a distributing valve to direct compressed air to one end of said cylinder to stop the machine and to the other end of the cylinder to start the ma- -valve I45 is connected by a conduit I48 to the chine, a plurality of air'valves for operating said distributing valve to 'move said piston to start the machine, pneumatic connections between said air valves and said distributing valve requiring simultaneous operation of said air valves to operate said distributing valve, and means to operate said distributing valve to move said piston to stop the machine.

3. A system of the character described comprising .a piston to start and stop a machine, a cylinder in which said piston is operated, a distributing valve to direct compressed air to one end of said cylinder to stop the machine and to the other end of the cylinder to start the machine, a plurality of air valves for operating said distributing valve to move said piston to start the machine, pneumatic connections between said air valves and said distributing valve requiring simultaneous operation of said air valves to operate said distributing valve, a plurality of airvalves for operating said distributing valve to move said piston to stop the machine and connections between said last named air valves and said distributing valve requiring the operationof only one of said last named air valves to operate said distributing valve to move said piston to stop the machine.

4. A system of the character described comprising a piston to start and stop a machine, a cylinder in which said piston is operated, a distributing valve to direct compressed air to one end of said cylinder to stop the machine and to the other end of the cylinder to start the machine, a plurality of air valves at spaced stations for operating said distributing valve to move said piston to start the machine, pneumatic connections between said air valves and said distributing valve requiring simultaneous operation of said air valves to operate said distributing valve, and means to operate said distributing valve to move said piston to stop the machine.

5. A system of the character described comprising a piston to start and stop a' machine, a

cylinder in which said piston is operated, a distributing valve to direct compressed air to one end of said cylinder to stop the machine and to .the other end. of the cylinder to start the machine, a plurality of air valves at spaced stations for operating said distributing valve to move said piston to start the machine, pneumatic connections between said air valves and said distributing valve requiring simultaneous operation of said air valves to operate said distributing valve,

'means to operate said distributing valve to move operable means to operate said mechanism for starting the machine, means including a plurality of manually operable means to operate said mechanism for stopping the machine, and connections between said last named means and said mechanism requiring the operation of only one of said last named manually operable means to operate said mechanism for stopping the machine, said first named and second named manually operable means being equal in number, there being a first named manually'operable means-76 means including a plurality of manually operable means to operate said mechanism for starting the machine, connections between said means and said mechanism requiring simultaneous operation of said manually operable means to operate said mechanism for starting said mechanism, means including a plurality of manually operable means to operate said mechanism for stopping the machine at any time during the cycle of operation thereof, and connections between said last named means and said mechanism requiring the operation of only one of said named manually operable means to operate said mechanism for stopping said machine.

8. A system of the character described comprising mechanism to start and stop the operation of a machine, means including a plurality of manually operable means to operate said mechanism for starting the machine, connections between said means and said mechanism requiring simultaneous operation of said manually operable means to operate said mechanism for starting the machine, means including a plurality of manually operable means to operate said mechanism for stopping the machine at any time during the cycle of operation thereof, and

connections between said last named means and ally operable means being equal in number, there being a first named manually operable means by each second named operable means, said first named manually operable means being spaced one from the other sufliciently to prevent the simultaneous operation of any two of them by one hand.

9. A system of the character described com prising mechanism to start and stop the operation of a machine, means including a plurality of manually operable, means to operate said mechanism for starting the machine, connections between said means and said mechanism requiring simultaneous operation of said manually operable means to operate said mechanism for starting the machine, automatic means to operate said mechanism to stop the machine, said automatic means comprising a cam driven by the machine and means actuated by said cam, and manually controlled means to operate said mechanism to actuate the machine in relatively short periods of manually determined length at any time during the cycle of operation thereof.

HAROLD A. TOMKINS. LOYD A. WARD. 

